Italy threatens to send migrants back to Libya

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has threatened to send a boatload of migrants back to Libya unless EU countries take them in. 

Writing on Twitter, Mr Salvini told Europe to start getting serious about defending its external borders and accepting migrants, otherwise Italy would take them back where they came from.

He said Italy had already played its part, and enough was enough.

Around 170 migrants are aboard an Italian coastguard vessel that docked in Catania in Sicily just before midnight, but they are not being allowed to disembark.

After they were rescued at sea last week, Italy and Malta argued about whose responsibility they were.

O l’Europa inizia a fare sul serio DIFENDENDO i suoi confini e ricollocando gli immigrati, oppure inizieremo a riportarli nei porti da dove sono partiti.
L’Italia ha già fatto la sua parte, e quando è troppo, è troppo. pic.twitter.com/2cJs8jOtpe

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) August 21, 2018